Why
crypto is going down today and why crypto is falling can be summed up in one
sentence: this is a classic macro-driven risk-off move hitting a technically
weak market, with my charts on Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Dogecoin all pointing
lower.

The
cryptocurrency market extended its selloff on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, as
Bitcoin dropped below $89,000 to trade around $88,626, Ethereum slipped to
$2,920, and XRP logged its seventh consecutive down session at $1.89.

Let’s check
together why crypto is falling today. We’ll take a look at the charts and go
through XRP/USDT, BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, and DOGE/USDT, walking step by
step through a technical analysis based on my more than ten years of experience
as an investor and analyst.

Tariffs, Greenland and
Risk-Off

President
Trump’s arrival at Davos with his “Greenland-or-tariffs” ultimatum
has pushed US-Europe relations to a breaking point, triggering a rotation out
of high-beta assets like Bitcoin and altcoins . The proposed tariffs, aimed at
pressuring Denmark to reconsider control of Greenland, have met firm resistance
from European leaders, raising fears of a prolonged trade confrontation that
could escalate into a full-blown transatlantic trade war.

European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that any EU response to US
measures would be “unflinching, united, and proportional,” reinforcing
market concerns about broader economic spillovers. As one European politician
put it, Trump’s rhetoric serves as a “Nero warning” to
the established international order, and this fracture in Western alliances is
making Bitcoin and altcoins look even riskier in the near term.

Why
crypto is falling today extends beyond just tariff headlines. Safe-haven repricing has
accelerated as the EU weighs its “anti-coercion tool” and
potential retaliatory trade actions, with
gold investors now watching the $5,000 level as concerns mount.
Meanwhile, billionaire investor Ray Dalio warned that the global economy may be
entering a “new phase of financial conflict,” telling
CNBC that geopolitical disputes increasingly risk spilling into capital flows
and asset allocation decisions.

Roughly $1.7
billion was liquidated from the crypto market in the last 24 hours
according to Coinglass, while the Crypto Fear & Greed Index lingers
in “Fear” territory. US spot Bitcoin ETFs have reversed
course to post nearly $500 million in outflows over just two
sessions, suggesting that last week’s record inflows were driven by speculative
hot money rather than solid, long-term accumulation.

For
real-time Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Dogecoin technical analysis as my charts
test critical support zones with extreme downside risk, follow me on X (Twitter) @ChmielDk. I provide
moving average updates, Fibonacci projections, and macro impact insights on why
crypto is falling today.

Macro Pressure Points
Driving Crypto Lower

As Filip
Dzięciołowski from Cryps.pl warns, as long as “geopolitical
turmoil from Greenland to Iran” persists, safe bets like gold
look more attractive while “stocks and bitcoin” look
riskier, which is exactly the kind of environment where crypto is going down
today instead of bouncing.

Bitcoin Price and
Technical Analysis: Why Bitcoin Is Falling?

Bitcoin has
just completed six straight down sessions, with only a tiny 0.2%
uptick today and is trading around $88,626. As you can see on my
chart, Bitcoin remains locked in a consolidation below the 200 EMA, which
confirms that in my technical view the market is officially in a
downtrend.

According
to my short-term chart, the immediate scenario is a test of
the lower boundary of the sideways range around $74,000. Bitcoin’s current
price of $88,626 sits only 5% above this critical support zone, which
represents the November consolidation lows and the April 2025 yearly minimum of
$74,420.

My
technical analysis shows that the first downside target
from the daily chart is $74,000, followed by $68,000 from
the weekly chart, where the 200-week EMA is currently running.
If we reach that weekly level, Bitcoin would be trading nearly 23% below
current prices and testing a zone that has historically marked major cycle
lows.

My extreme
bearish scenario, based on Fibonacci extensions, points to
around $52,000 on the Bitcoin chart, which would be the lowest
since August 2024. From current levels near $88,626, this represents a
potential decline of over 41%, though such a move would require a
complete breakdown of market structure and sustained macro stress.

Bitcoin Technical Roadmap

Current
price: $88,626
(Wednesday, Jan 21, 2026)
Intraday low: $88,965 (lowest in 2+ weeks)
Six-session decline: From ~$98,000 peak on Jan 17 (-9.6%)

My downside targets:

• Immediate: $74,000 (November
  consolidation lower band, April lows, -16%)
• Medium-term: $68,000 (200-week EMA
  zone, -23%)
• Extreme Fibonacci: $52,000 (100% extension,
  August 2024 lows, -41%)

Invalidation levels:

• Reclaim
  $98,000 (recent peak)
• Break
  above 200 EMA
• Establish higher highs on daily
  chart

Joel
Kruger, the LMAX strategist, still views Bitcoin’s pullback as “corrective
rather than trend-breaking,” noting that the asset has fallen
back into a familiar consolidation range and remains above its November lows,
preserving the broader medium-term uptrend structure. He adds that Bitcoin is
increasingly viewed as the “defensive anchor within the
sector” compared with high-beta alts, but in the near
term, my chart still points lower.

Ethereum Price and
Technical Analysis: Why Ethereum Is Going Down Today

Ethereum (ETH) price is logging
its fourth straight losing session, currently down about 0.7%
on Wednesday and trading near $2,920. As you can see
on my chart, ETH is clearly targeting at least $2,750,
which is the lower boundary of a two-month-long consolidation range.

The upper
boundary of this range sits around $3,400, which I define as the
zone created by the 9 October lows and the local highs from December and early
January. Ethereum fell below the $3,000 mark for the first time in
three weeks during Tuesday’s selloff, recording steeper declines than
Bitcoin and shedding nearly 4% in a 24-hour window.

My
medium-term downside target is the June lows near $2,100, extending toward
the round psychological support at $2,000. From current prices
around $2,920, this represents a potential decline of roughly 28-32%,
which would take Ethereum back to levels last seen during the summer
consolidation phase.

My extreme
bearish scenario, based on Fibonacci extensions, points toward the $1,000
area, which would mark the weakest Ethereum price since November 2022 and
represent a stunning 66% decline from current levels. While
this is an outlier scenario, it illustrates the tail risk embedded in the
current technical structure on my chart.

Ethereum Technical Levels

Current
price: $2,920
(down 0.7% Wednesday)
Recent low: $2,965 (below $3K for first time in 3 weeks)
Consolidation range: $2,750-$3,400 (two-month sideways pattern)

My downside targets:

• Immediate: $2,750
  (lower consolidation band, -6%)
• Medium-term: $2,100
  (June lows, -28%)
• Round
  support: $2,000 (psychological level, -32%)
• Extreme
  Fibonacci: $1,000 (Nov 2022 lows, -66%)

Bullish
invalidation on my chart:

• Reclaim
  200 EMA
• Break back above $3,400 (upper
  consolidation band)
• Push through $3,800 (cluster
  of autumn 2025 lows/highs)

XRP Price and Technical
Analysis: Why XRP Is Falling

XRP has
just logged seven straight red sessions, and today (Wednesday, 21
January 2026) it is drifting toward the lower end of the range,
trading around $1.89. Since the early-January test of two-month
highs on January 6, there has been just one meaningful up session on
January 13, with the rest of the days dominated by declines, that’s exactly
what my chart is highlighting.

XRP
recorded a 3.42% decline in Monday’s session and continues to
trade defensively as the broader crypto market selloff intensifies. As you can
see on my technical setup, XRP is now facing a direct test of local
support at $1.80, which overlaps with this year’s and last year’s lows.

The
moving averages on my XRP chart clearly point to a bearish trend, and my
technical analysis shows that a clean break below $1.80 opens the way to deeper
depreciation. In
an environment where investors are running from risk, higher-beta,
litigation-scarred names like XRP tend to suffer more, which aligns with
the seven-session losing streak visible on my candles.

XRP Downside Roadmap on My
Chart

Current
price: $1.89
(Wednesday, 7th down session)
Critical support: $1.80 (yearly/prior-year lows)
Sessions: 7 straight declines (only 1 up day since Jan 6)

My
downside targets if $1.80 breaks:

• First major target: $1.25 (flash-crash low
  from October 10)
• Extreme Fibonacci scenario: $0.50 (lowest XRP price
  since November 2024)

If this
support band at $1.80 breaks on my technical setup, XRP
could accelerate lower toward the $1.25 zone, which I identify
as the flash-crash low from 10 October. That would represent
a 34% decline from current levels and would likely trigger
significant stop-loss cascades among leveraged traders.

My extreme
Fibonacci-based scenario on my chart points to around $0.50,
which would be the lowest XRP price since November 2024 and
represent a catastrophic 74% decline from current prices.
While this is a tail-risk scenario, the technical structure on my longer-term
charts keeps this level in play if the macro environment deteriorates further
and liquidations accelerate.

Dogecoin Price and
Technical Analysis: Why Dogecoin Is Going Down Today

Since 6
January, Dogecoin (DOGE)
has had only one green session (13 January), and is now falling for
the eighth straight day, down around 0.7% on Wednesday and
changing hands near $0.1254. As you can see on my chart,
DOGE is clearly pointed toward this year’s lows in the $0.12065 region,
which also lines up with the lower limit of the recent consolidation.

Dogecoin
recorded a 2.23% decline in Monday’s session, making it one of
the better performers among major cryptocurrencies on a relative basis, though
the absolute trend remains firmly negative. On my technical setup,
Dogecoin could accelerate lower, potentially slipping below $0.08, which is
the next major downside zone I am watching if the current support fails.

Dogecoin Technical
Structure

Current
price: $0.1254
(8th straight down day)
Winning sessions since Jan 6: Only 1 (out of 15 total sessions)
Current target: $0.12065 (2026 lows, lower consolidation limit)

My downside scenario:

• If support breaks: Below $0.08 (next major
  support zone, -36%)

Bullish
reversal conditions on my chart:

• Reclaim $0.18 (200
  EMA location)
• Break above mid-Oct lows /
  mid-Nov highs resistance cluster
• Reopen path toward $0.26 (last
  seen 3 months ago)

From my
perspective, the negative scenario gets properly neutralized only if Dogecoin
can reclaim at least $0.18, where the 200 EMA currently sits and
where a key resistance cluster formed by the mid-October lows and mid-November
highs is located. A move back above that region would reopen the way
toward $0.26, last seen only three months ago in October 2025.

FAQ: Why Crypto Is Going
Down Today

Why is crypto going down
today?

Why crypto
is going down today: Bitcoin fell to $88,626, Ethereum to $2,920, XRP logged
7th straight decline to $1.89, driven by Trump tariff threats over Greenland
triggering risk-off rotation. According to my technical analysis, Bitcoin
targets $74K consolidation lower band, with extreme risk to $52K on Fibonacci
extensions. $1.7B liquidated in 24 hours, $500M ETF outflows in 2 sessions.

Why is Bitcoin falling?

Bitcoin is
falling after 6 straight down sessions, now at $88,626, as you can see on my
chart below 200 EMA in confirmed downtrend. My technical analysis shows
immediate test of $74K (Nov consolidation/April lows), then $68K (200-week
EMA), extreme scenario $52K (-41%). EU Commission President warns response will
be “unflinching” to tariffs, JGB yields hit records, tightening
global liquidity.

Why is Ethereum going down
today?

Ethereum
down 4th straight session to $2,920, fell below $3K for first time in 3 weeks.
On my chart, ETH targeting $2,750 lower consolidation band, then $2,100 June
lows (-28%), extreme $1,000 Fibonacci scenario (-66%). ETH/BTC ratio sliding as
Ethereum trades “more like a growth asset with higher sensitivity to
liquidity and risk sentiment” per LMAX analyst.

Why is XRP falling?

XRP falling
7th straight session to $1.89, only 1 up day since Jan 6 highs. Moving averages
on my XRP chart clearly point to bearish trend, with direct test of $1.80
yearly/prior-year lows support. My technical analysis shows break below $1.80
opens way to $1.25 flash-crash lows (-34%), extreme Fibonacci $0.50 (-74%).
Higher-beta, litigation-scarred names suffer more in risk-off.

Why is Dogecoin going down
today?

Dogecoin
down 8th straight day to $0.1254, only 1 green session since Jan 6 (out of 15
total). On my chart, DOGE targeting $0.12065 (2026 lows, lower consolidation),
break opens path below $0.08 (-36%). Bullish invalidation only if reclaim $0.18
(200 EMA, Oct/Nov resistance cluster) toward $0.26. Macro risk-off draining
liquidity from most speculative corners.